So I've been working on alternate environment versions of the Joes for a while, essentially patterning the concept on the repaints of Grunt and Clutch that came with the Falcon glider and Vamp mk II.

Steeler and Grunt are very much from that school of thought:

Next up was Grand Slam, who was just a variation on the core theme. I tossed some green into his mix for variety's sake:

And last was Flint. I'd actually done an earlier version of him that I liked okay, but it felt a little too basic to me and I wanted to distinguish him as the real stand-out of the group:

Here they all are in the context of my broader desert squad, which includes my custom Covergirl, Dusty and a slightly modified Leatherneck:

Now I just need to figure out how I'm going to do Clutch.

What do you all think?

Nice! Flint is perfect - are those Logan arms? I would have gone with brown for the jacket, but that would probably upset the color flow here - still, sweet

I would add some goggles/sunglasses to everyone, because I can't recall a time during my hitch in the desert where I saw anyone sans eye protection.

Is that a LexCorp trooper head on GS?

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I really dig all these. Flint shines, to be sure. I'd personally use Steeler's head on Steeler, but that's a bias based on him being my favorite figure from back in the day, and thinking he was a bit of a pretty boy, more so than the fugly Grunt head would show. lol.

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Grand Slam makes me chuckle. I'd buy that if it were released. Every team needs a desert trained jet pack trooper.

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cool...did you paint the base color or is it from the ultimate battle set figure?

Thanks, guys.

Glad you're digging these.

To answer some questions...



A little from column A and a little from column B. Most of the figures' parts are either straight from the UPB or the Cobra online exclusive desert set, but I had to color match both (and they are slightly different) in places on pretty much all of the figures. That custom mixing was a bear.



Yeah, I appreciate the cheese factor, myself. I like to thnk that look on Slam's face is saying "What the heck am I doing in this group?!?"

And speaking of Slam's mug...



It is, indeed, Chief. Good eye. I had two left over from the three pack I bought for fodder and decided to use them both on Grand Slam (on this figure and the original Target exclusive). They just had a look that felt right for him.

Thanks again for looking, all.

I love special unit sets. The best ones are always custom. I dig the Flint with the leather jacket. Way cool.

Doesn't Steeler have a desert figure in the 25th Anniversary line already?

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I love to see groups of figures like this, and I happen to be working on a group mostly in desert colors as well so I'm really liking these. Would love to see these guys going up against the Cobra desert set!

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Thanks for the additional thoughts, guys.

Just realized I hadn't fully answered Chief. Those are Logan arms on Flint.



Indeed he does, and that figure was the base for my Steeler, Grunt and Flint. But I hated the lower legs on it, so I swapped all of them out and paint matched. On Steelr, I also tweaked the shoulder rig to sit better on the figure (shortening the strap slightly), replaced his noggin with the stubbly face I used on my regular Steeler custom and gave him the desert appropriate helmet.

Oh, a question for Chief (or anyone with an opinion): since the Geunt and steeler have shades sculpted onto their helmets, could I get away without giving them detachable ones? I think I have enough eye gear for Flint, Leatherneck and covergirl (only ones without represented eye protection), but they wouldn't all match. Is that an issue from a realism standpoint?

Oh, heh. There goes my 25th inexperience again... didn't the Desert Steeler reuse the same mold as Regular Steeler, with the Duke arms and suchlike?

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Damn good set! Setting Flint apart from the others in terms of his uniform is just a great idea- it really promotes the low-key cockiness of the character.

That's EXACTLY what I was going for. Hence the insistence on the tough-guy black leather, which -- as Chief noted -- wouldn't be most guys' first choice for the desert. So glad that came through. Thanks.